"I feel I can be pretty great," Starks said. "I don't like talking about myself too much. But I think I can be real good. If I'm healthy, I can do a lot."

Eddie Lacy? The 2013 rookie of the year has recovered himself. And after the Packers' final minicamp practice, he promised to run the same way that earned him these honors.

"Every opportunity means a lot and I'll run the ball as if it's my last play," Lacy said. "Whether it's 300 or 250, whatever the number is, I'm going to give every carry everything I have."

Yet Lacy also needed to take several weeks off after the season simply to recover. His body was hurting.

Which raises the question...

Should he run the same way?

Probably no other starting running back in the NFL absorbed and delivered more abuse than Lacy. Counting the postseason, he surpassed the 300-carry plateau. And as mentioned in today's story, a Lacy carry --- bashing into piles, dragging tacklers, spraining his ankle three times in three weeks --- is different than a carry from others. Not to mention, the shelf life of running backs these days is already low.

Bettis noted that he too took a pounding as a rookie, and then some. Through his 294 carries in 1993 with the L.A. Rams, Bettis separated his shoulder, bruised his sternum and had a "baseball-sized" lump on his hip. In practice, he needed to wear a red jersey to avoid contact.

So he tweaked his running style, slightly.

In the first half of games, Bettis relished contact. He took on tacklers. And then into the fourth quarter — when defensive backs were now bracing for haymakers — Bettis relied on quickness, footwork.

"Later in the games I knew that you needed to try to tackle me and you were nervous from what I did earlier in the game," Bettis said last December. "You went after me low. So now it's my time here to be a little bit more elusive, to jump over the arm tackle at my ankles to make a big play. So I would use my aggressiveness and physicality to my advantage.

"Hopefully they get Eddie to understand that and he's going to be smart when those opportunities present themselves."

Bettis then lasted 13 seasons.

Anderson sees Lacy learning in time, too. For now, he says it's smart for him to set this intimidating precedent.

"Of course you evolve. Of course, of course," Anderson said. "But once you've established how you've entered into the league, and you get that into peoples' minds, then you start working on this, that and the other. You don't want to be a fool. But if you come with a certain pad level and you have a chance to take people on — you take them on with everything you've got."

Maybe Lacy does try to find a balance. Gash did note he's working with Starks on his own reckless play at the point of contact. For now, it sounds like Lacy will run the same, hellbent way.

And that may not be such a bad thing. Possibly the Packers simply take Lacy at his numbing best as long as they can. One season in, it's difficult to argue with the results.

So here's the blog debate this down week in late June: Would you want Lacy to change his game?

(Journal Sentinel photo by Mark Hoffman)

About Tyler Dunne

Tyler Dunne covers the Green Bay Packers. He has been on the beat since 2011, winning awards with the Pro Football Writers of America and Milwaukee Press Club.